Assessment of Rainwater Harvesting Systems in Poor Rural Communities: A Case Study from Yatta Area, Palestine

Abstract

Yatta is a town located nine kilometers south of Hebron city in the West Bank of Palestine. The town houses over 100,000 people of which 49% are females and has a population that doubles every 15 years. Yatta has been connected to a water network since 1974 serving nearly 85% of its households. The water network is old and inadequate to meet the needs of the population. Water supply made available to the area is limited, estimated at 20 L/capita/day. Residents are thus forced to rely on water vendors who supply water that is 400% more expensive with a lower quality compared to municipal water. Therefore, rainwater harvesting is a common practice in the area, with the majority of households owning at least one cistern. Rainwater harvesting is of great socio-economic importance in areas where water sources are scarce and/or polluted. In this research, the quality of harvested rainwater used for drinking and domestic purposes in Yatta was assessed throughout one year. A total of 100 samples were collected from cisterns with an average capacity of 69 m3, which are adjacent to cement-roof catchment areas of 145 m2 average surface area. Samples were analyzed for a number of parameters including temperature, pH, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, total dissolved solids, NO3, NH4, chloride and salinity. Results showed that most of the rainwater samples were within World Health Organization (WHO) and Environment Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for chemical parameters. Microbiological contents such as total Coliforms and faecal Coliforms bacteria were tested. The research also addressed the impact of rainwater harvesting systems on different socio-economic attributes of the local community through a questionnaire that had been filled out before any sample was collected.

The Quality of Stored Rainwater for Washing Purposes

“…Additional positive influence on water quality is the location of the system in one of the cleanest regions in Europe, specifically Podlaskie, Poland. Al-Batsh, et al [33] notice that after a stabilization period the stored rainwater becomes significantly cleaner [33], and this reflected many of the results in Table 1. Table 1 shows the results of physicochemical characteristic of the rainwater samples: immediately after rainfall and 10, 20, 30 days later.…”

“…Metal roofs are suitable for high quality of harvested rainwater-high temperature and ultraviolet light effectively The level of water pollution in the first area is affected by local air pollution and time of year. It is an area independent of RWH solutions and should be treated as a characteristic of a given location [33]. In the second area, the runoff assimilates all pollution present on the roof, including precipitation (i.e., wet deposition), atmospheric deposition (i.e., dry deposition) and materials used in the roof construction.…”

“…Metal roofs are suitable for high quality of harvested rainwater-high temperature and ultraviolet light effectively and naturally disinfect the rooftop surface. To maintain a high quality of collected rainwater a regular cleaning of catchment areas and storage tanks is required [33]. Literature review reveals that rainwater is highly variable in the quality and quantity of contaminants and microorganisms [33,37].…”

“…The requirements for collected rainwater for washing purposes can be defined using three groups of factors: proper tank size, quality and safety of accumulated rainwater and washing quality based on outcome, results and users' satisfaction ( Figure 2). The quality and pollution of harvested rainwater depends on the environment, location, collection surface and the RWH system [31][32][33][34][35]. For the purposes of this analysis three areas of rainwater contamination have been identified (Figure 3).…”

“…In urban areas, roofs are contaminated with wind-blown dirt including heavy metals and nutrias, lichens and mosses, fungus, fecal droppings from birds and other animals, insects and litter, or fallen organic matter from the surroundings trees pollute the water [36]. Metal roofs are suitable for high quality of harvested rainwater-high temperature and ultraviolet light effectively The quality and pollution of harvested rainwater depends on the environment, location, collection surface and the RWH system [31][32][33][34][35]. For the purposes of this analysis three areas of rainwater contamination have been identified (Figure 3).…”